COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s basically an entirely new Ohio State football team in 2016. That doesn’t mean the national expectations have changed. Though the Buckeyes have to replace more NFL Draft picks than any fan would care to recall, they bring back potential Heisman Trophy candidate J.T. Barrett. Oh, and Ohio State’s recruiting classes have been in the top-five annually every year, so there’s a general assumption that Urban Meyer’s team will be more talented than just about every single team it faces in 2016. In year’s past, Ohio State’s chances of an undefeated regular season were high, especially last year when the Buckeyes returned just about everyone from the 2014 national championship team. We calculated Ohio State’s chances an undefeated 2015 regular season last summer at 51.7 percent, which was actually fairly accurate given the Buckeyes lost only one game in the last second. This year we’re back to calculating, but it’s definitely going to be more tricky. Why? It’s simple. Because Ohio State has an entirely new team outside of a few main contributors like Barrett, center Pat Elflein and linebacker Raekwon McMillan. And Ohio State’s schedule in 2016 is unquestionably more difficult, starting with a road game in the nonconference at Oklahoma, a loaded team that made an appearance in the College Football Playoff a year ago. Meyer has accomplished a lot in his time at Ohio State. There’s a nice national title trophy in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Can…
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